Ensilage-packer



H. E. COBB.

ENSILAGE PCKER.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJB. 1919.

Pawnaspt. 21,1920;

\\ is R ffl/ll,

APPLICATION FILED AUGJS, 1919,

H. E. COBB.

ENSILAGE PACKEH.

Patented Sept. 21, 1920.

H. E.v COBB.

ENSILAGE PACK-ER. APPLICATION man Aumls. 1919.

Patented Sept. 21, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

"/k 3114@ E I Gill.

FITS-V12- HARRYE. COBB, or sriaiiteriiiriniinninoisfiiitsiiiiiefiiPrionnit,l"j-

assenza. i

Application filed august i8, i919. seriai'ivo. 318,427. j

To all whom if may concern.' a

Be it known that I, HARRY E. COBB, a citi `*zen oit the United Statesresiding at Springfield, in the county oi' angamon and State of Illinoishave invented a new and useful .Ensilage-Facker, of which the followingis a speciiication. l Y

rlhe invention relates to ensilage packers ysuch as are used to packdown the ensilage in silos while they are being filled. A gen eralpurpose of the invention lis to provide packing mechanism which may beeasily and quickly installed in :silos of dierent constructions; whichmay be operated without the attendance of any personin the silo, whichshall be simple in construction and not likely to get out of order, andwhich` shall be eiective and economical in operation. f j v 4 Morespeciic purposes of the `invention arez'to providein conjunction with astationary vertical staff central in the silo and rollers traveling inthe silo; a carriage adaptedto slide on the `staff and carrying 25v thetrain of gears which operate the rollers;

to provide a master roller controlling the improvedconstruction adaptedlto hold the staff firmly in true vertical position and equipped withsheaves co-acting with sheaves carried by the carriage; to provide anendless-belt drive for actuating the rollers; to provide an improvedtension device for the endless belt drive; to provide improved lmeansfor introducing the cut or shredded 'fodder into and distributing itevenly in the silo without the necessity for the operator ,to enter thesilo; and to provide improved minor structural details. Y,

The invention is illustrated in the an- .necessary to show the neXeddrawings, to which reference is hereby made, and will now'be describedand claimed. j y Y y Figure l is Va verticaly sectional lView 'througlia silo, showing in elevation packing mechanism embodying invention; Fig.2 is an enlarged j aartialve'rtical section taken on the anis of thecentralstai and showing details' lof the carriage, the-ge'ars,the.universal coupling and the rollers. top planiotthe trame" structure andappurtenances' in vplace onV the wall of the silo;

Fig. 3 is a only so much of the silo wall is 'shown asis osition of thetrame structure relative to t e wall; Fig. 4 isa vertical section takenon the line 4, 4,1of

Figi; Fig. 5 is an enlarged top plan; Fig. .6 is an enlarged sideelevationA andFig. 7 is an enlarged end elevation of the saddle-Specictio 0f LtersPatentE Patented Sept. i

and connecte'dparts; Figi-8 is an enlarged side elevationv of oneadjustable pedestal,-

enlarged top plan of an adjustable ypedestal of modified constructionsuch as is vused in n connection with a wooden silo; Fig. l1 is-anoutside perspectiveview and Fig.` l2 is an inside perspective view of aplug used in connection with the bracket Shown in Fig. V9; Fig. 13 isanenlarged perspective view of part of the scaffold and Fig. 14 is anenlarged vertical transversel section, taken onl the line 14:, 14: ofFig. l."

1 The saine reference numerals designate the j same parts in all theviews.- The silo l may loel of any approved con- "structionf Irhaveshownand will describe a cii'cularsilo having cement walls, but it isobvious that many sided silos instead of circular silos may be used andthat the material may be either cement, concrete, tile or wood, as maybe most convenient.`

The silo has yopenings 2, kprovided with doors 3, which fit tightlyinthe openings and prevent leakage. ,Y Y v On the outer wall of the silois a stationary ladders inline with the series ot openings 2.

A sc'aold 5, t'o be described later, hooks onl to the rungs of theladder.andsupports the operator in convenient positions for the work., V

" The' silage `isl introduced into` the silov through a feed pipe 6, andconnected with the pipe is a series or' spouts 7, which are connectedwith each other by pivots 8. The operator stands on the scaiold with hishead and shoulders projecting into the silo, and

with his hands directs the spouts so as to de-v will be opened when itis desired to clean the silo, but will be closed by a plug 10preparatory to lling the silo. 141 chair 12 is stationary on the centerof Vthe bottom of the silo and straddles the plug 10 in order that theplug may be conveniently inserted .or re moved. rlhe chair has in itsupper end a polygonal socket 13 in which the lower end of the polygonalstaff 14 rests. r1`he staff 14 is preferably a sectional tube of squarecross section, the sections being connected together by any suitablemeans, preferably by square plugs 30 riveted in one section and fittinginside the complemental section and fastened therein by suitableremovable fasteners 31. sectional stall is used in order that the lengthof the stall may be varied according tothe depth of the silo.

The frame structure comprises horizontal parallel pipe members 15,supported on pedestals which will now be described.

rlhere are two `pairs of pedestals diametrically opposite each other ontop of the plate 22, which is stationary on top of the silo wall. Thepedestals are connected with the plate 22 by bolts 28. IThe pedestalsare all alike, so a description of one will suliice for all.

Each pedestal comprises in one structure a barrel 16 accommodating themembers 24 of the brackets 19; a split tubular member ,17 accommodatingone of the pipes 15; a base plate 18; and a pair of brackets 19'(Fig.8). "l`he pipe members 15 extend through the members 17 and are 'clampedtherein by bolts 20 extending transversely through ears 21 on themembers 17. Each bracket 19 has an in tegral tubular member 24 whichtelescopes in the barrel 16. r1`he brackets 19 are preferably connectedwith the silo wall by bolts 25- extending throughthe brackets andthrough the wall. A bolt 26 extends through both brackets 19 and throughthe members 24 and firmly unites theinwith the barrel 16. At the upperend of each bracket is an extension 27 accommodating a set-screw 28. Theinner ends oiC the set-screws 28 bear against the respective ends of thebarrel 16. When the parts are assembled and adjusted, the screws 28 willbe tightened to hold them in their adjusted position.

The members 24 extend a considerable distance into the barrel 16 andadmit ofadjustvto slide upward along the .staii' 14.

.ing the brackets to walls of dili'erent thickncsses. rEhe pedestal isstrengthened by suitable braces 29.

The ccwrage mol rollers.

The rollers which do they packing travel around and around on top of theensilage and as the filling of the silo progresses the rollers graduallyrise and cause the carr 'lhe carriage comprises a tubular upper member82 or polygonal cross section conformed to the stall 14 and non-rotativerelative to the stalln but adapted to slide thereon; a tube 33,permanently connected with the member 32, preferably by a screw anintermediate tubular member 86 rotative around the tube and a lowermember 57, also rotative around the tube A. plug 38 is secured in thelower end of the tube 83 V*by counter-sunk rivets 39 or other suitablemeans. The plug has central polygonal hole 46 conformed to the staff 14in order that the plug may slide on but cannot rotate on therstaff; theplug also has an integ i ledge 41 which prevents lengthwise movement ofthe member 37 on the tube A stud 42 on the member 32 supports a bevelgear 43 and a sheave 44 which rotate in unison on the stud.

Ai bracket 45 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4) stationary on the member 32 supportsrotative sheaves 46 which cause the belt 50 to hug the sheave 24 andprevent slipping of the belt.

T he compacter which rolls onand compacts the ensilage, comprises anouter or master roller 51, an inner or coupling roller and intermediaterollers 53. The master roller is somewhat larger and heavier than theother rollers and has on its circumference inclined cleats 63 which keepit from slipping on the ensilage and increase its effectiveness inpropelling the other rollers. rlhe roller 51 is connected lwith theshaft 54 by a bolt 56. The intermediate rollers 58 are loose on theshaft 54 and are all alike; each roller has an inwardly tapered rimtending to press the ensilage toward the center of the silo, and avgrease boX 62 containing' grease to lubricate the shaft. The insideroller 52 is loose on the shaft 54 and has an inwardly'tapered tread thesame as the rollers 53. rlhe web of the roller 52 is dished as shown toform aconcave chamber 68 housing the coupling devices 59, 60 and 61. Acoupler head 60 is secured on the shaft 54 by the bolt 55,. yl`hecoupler head spans the block 61 and is connected therewith by a pivot64. A pivot 65` connects the block 61 with the outwardly extended arms59 integral with the bevel gear 58. rllhe gear 58, actuated by the gear49, rotates on the stud 57 which is preferably integral with the member37 which is rotative around the sleeve 33. A washer 66 and a pin 67 acircle in the silo and propels the innerV roller 52 and theintermediaterollers 53 in smaller circles. The rollers 52 and 53 beingloose on the shaft are capableiof rotation at different speeds;` henceeach. roller will adapt itself to the circle in which ittravels andtherefore will roll onand compact the ensilage but will not drag it,thus assuring practically even packing. of the ensilage throughout thesilo.; 'Here it is to be noted that the inside diameters.. of standardsilos are usually multiples of. two feet, that` is 'to say, 8 ft., 10ft., 12 ft;, 14'ft., etc. The master roller 51 and therinner roller 52are common to all e'nsilage packersv which embody my inventionregardless of the diameter ofthe silo in which they areinstalled,

but the shafts 54 lwill, be of different lengths suitable for use insilos of different sizes. In practice the width of tread' of theintermediate rollers 53 is preferably one foot. The rollers 53 Vareinterchangeable to admit ofY adding or removing a .roller or rollers, as

the case may be, to adapt the compacter vto,

the silo in which'it lis to bejinstalled.v

The saddle. f

j Y l l 1 y The saddle, shown in detail in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 ispreferably of cast' `iron and 'vcom'- prises: a fiat top plate 69;arched side" members 70, having inner surfaces conformed to vthe outersurfaces of the pipes'l; a split hub 73 accommodatingthe upper part of`the staff 1 4; downwardlyextended `hangers 72, clamping members 76; ashaft 80, transv verse to the' hangers; and sheaves 82 and .83 rotativeon the shaft. A bolt 79 extending through ears 74 on the hubv A73'servesvt0 clamp the hub on staff 14. Bolts 7 8 extending through ears 71 onthe; members 70 and through ears 77 `onvtlie clamping" plates .76connect the saddle with Athe pipes 1.5. .Upon

' looseningthe nuts on the bolts 78 rthesaddle i :the nuts may betightened to `keep it in' place.V A pin 81 transverse to the bolt 80vmay be moved lengthwise'of'. the pipes 1 5.

to bring the staff 14 Ito(- true vertical position, and when the saddleis properly placed prevents lengthwise movement' ofthe bolt.

'The lfram-e @antenato/l1, mel connectedy parts.

The frame membersl (Figs. 1i andr3) project outwardly ai. considerabledistance beyond Vthe circumference ofV the silo.

Vtion lof the compacting mechanism.`

Brackets 84 and ..851` and; `a strap 90 are clamped on. the framemembers.Y A station-Y ary bolt 86 istransverse to the brackets`84 and alstationary bolt 87 lis transverse to the brackets '85. Two sheaves V88and 100 are rotative on the `bolt 86. One sheave 89 is rotative on thebolt 87. Thesheave 88 is in line with thev sheave82, and the;sheaves 89and 100 are inline withthe' sheave 83.

f A yoke 95 is'permanently lattached to a weight 93. Asheave96'jisrotative in the yoke 95. The weight has perforated,` arms94. A guide wjirea91 extends through the perforations of the arms 94.rl`he upper end of the guide ywireis permanently attached to the strapand its. lower end is permanently attached to the anchor 92. The guidewire preventslswaying of the weight `and guides its .vertical-.movementA guard rail 97 incloses a limited area iin.- mediately under the weight93, to prevent. persons from unwittingly entering the .area` where theymight be struck by the moving weight.v y.

The mechanism may-be operated'by any suitable prime mover (not shown)such for example as a steam engine, a gasolene .engine, an electricmotor, orthe like. vl have shown conventionally in Fig. 1l 1a'v gear set98 adapted tobe kdriven byy a `belt running on the pulley 101. The gearset may be of any approved construction, connected and timed to. rotatethe sheave 99j at ajspeed suitable for effective and satisfactoryoperav10() l have shownA and described Van endless round belt or cable50 running on a series of sheaves which forward and direct Vthe beltorcable, but it is obvious that a flat belt, orv a link-belt, or asprocket chainmay be used :1.05 with suitable'pulleys, or flangedwheels, or toothed wheels, to forward andl direct the belt, cable orchain, as the case may be, without departure from my invention ,1 andthe term belt herein used isto be understood 1510 as including cables,chains, round belts, flat belts, link belts and other flexiblelpowertransmission devices; and the term v sheave y herein used is tovbeunderstood asincluding sheaves, pulleys, flangedwheels, toothed 1.715

wheels or other` Asimilar devices for forward? Ving or directing theflexible power-transmis-l sion devices. l I p The scaffold.-

VOpenings 2, is clearly show-n in Figs-1 and 13, and consists of-aplankfandajpair of hangers permanently attached to the plank, 1125 i tonehanger being adjacent to each end ofthe plank. Y Thehan'gers are spacedlapart from each other according to the width of the ladder 4 with whichthey are used.. Each hanger comprisesan upright .member 102 130 having afoot 103, an integral hook 104 and an attached hook 105; and abrace-member 106 having a foot 107. A rivet 10S connects the upper partof the brace with the upright member 102, and bolts 109 extendthroughthe foot member 107, the planlr and the foot member 103 to securelyconnect them with the plank. The hooks 104 support the scaffold on therungs of the ladder 4 and the hooks 105 engage on the rungs of theladder to keep the scaffold 4,from swinging out- 'wardly Y y (THE RUN oFTHE BELT.)

Operation.

The belt 50 running on and actuated by the sheave 99, runs upwardly toand over the sheave 88, thence in a straight line to and over theslieave 82, thence downward to and ai'ound the sheave 44,'V thenceupwardly to and over the sheave 83, thence in straight line to and overthe sheave 89, thence downward to'and around the sheave 96, thenceupward to and around the sheavc 1.00, and thence downward'to the shea-vc99. The rotating sheave 44 actuates the gears 43, 48, 49 and 58 toeffect rotation-of the shaft 54 to cause the compacter' to travel incircle around the staff 14 to compact the ensilage while it is beingdistributed in the silo by the spouts 7.

A pedestal of modified construction, illustrated in Figs. 9, 10, 11 and12, is adapted for use in connection with wooden slios and will now beldescribed.v y l A circular wooden silo as ordinarily constructedcomprises stationary vertical studd'ing 109 placed in a circle suitabledistances apart from each other and united at their tops by a pla-te110.- A circular series of vertical staves 111 arepermanently attachedto the studding and the plate.

lThe frame-member 15, the barrel 16,. the holding-member 17, the base18, the bracket 19, the tubular braclet-member 24, the bolt 26, theadjusting screw28 and the clamping devices'20 and 21 are the saine ashave already been described. rllo attach the pedestal to a wooden silotwo brackets 19 cannot be used advantageously, by reason of the space113 between the outer edge ofthe studding 109 and the inner face of thestave 111.

, ltherefore use at one end of the barrel 16,

a plug 114 having a central hole 115, to accommodate the bolt 26, apolygonal socket 116 which holds the head of the bolt to lrccp it fromturning, and a lug 117 which engages in a notch 118 at one end' of thebarrel to .keep the plug from turning in the barrel.

,weaver the upper part of the bracket 19 and holds the parts firmlytogether.

Minor details of construction may obviously be varied and still keepwithin the scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what 1 claim as new and desire tosecure by lietters Patent is:

1. rhe compacter` for ensilage packers, consistingl of a rotative shaft;a master roller fixed on said shaft; an inner roller loose on saidshaft; and interchangeable rollers loose on said shaft, between theinaster roller and the inner roller.

2. The compacter for ensilage packers, consisting of a drive gear; meansfor actuating the drive gear; a shaft having universal-joint Yconnectionwith the drive gear; a master roller fixed on the shaft; and otherrollers loose on the shaft and rotative independently of the masterroller.

3. 1n an ensilage packer, the combination of a stationary staff, aninner sleeve slidable in the direction of thelength of the staff anouter sleeve rotative on said inner sleeve; a stud on said outer sleeve;a gear rotative on said stud; a shaft having universal-joint connectionwith said gear; a master roller iiXe'd on said shaft; and other rollersloose onsaid shaft and rotative independently of the master roller.

4. 1n an ensilage packer, the combination of a stationary staff; acarriage slidable in lthe direction of the length of the staff; a

driving` gear, intermediate gears and a driven gear carried by saidcarriage; means for actuating the driving gear; a shaft havinguniversal-joint connection with the driven gear; a master roller fixedon said shaft; and other rollers loose on said shaft. 5. 1n an ensilagepacker, the combination of a rotative driven gear; means for rotatthedriven gear; a block pivotally connected with said driven gear; lacoupling head pivotally connected with said block; shaft rotative withsaid coupling head; and a roller rotative on said shaft and dished toform -a chamber containing said block and said coupling head.

. 6. 1n .an ensilage packer the combination Vof parallel horizontalframe members; a

vported on the frame members; rotative sheaves supported by the saddle;a staff held by said staff-holding device; a carriage adapted to slideon the staff; a sheare on the carriage co-acting with the sheaves on thesaddle; a train of gears driven by the sheave on the carriage; a shaftactuated by said train of gears; a master roller fixed on the shaft;compacting rollersloose on the shaft; an endless belt running on .aidsheaves; and a counterweight on one run of the belt effective to keepthe belt taut during the sliding movements of the carriage.

7. In an ensilage packer, the combination of a stationary chair having apolygonal socket; a stationary frame structure above said chair; asaddle on said frame-structure; a staff-holding device on the saddle inline with the socket or" said chair; a polygonal staff held againstrotation in the socketl of the chair and in the staff-holding device ofthe saddle; a carriage slidable on the staff; a train oi" gears carriedbythe carriage; a master roller actuated by said train of gears andcompacting rollers traveling in a circle around said carriage.

8. In an ensilage packer, the combination saddle on the frame members;sheaves on the saddle parallel to each other; and in line with thesheaves on the frame members; a staff held by the saddle; a carriageslidable on the staff; a sheave *carriedv by the carriage;compaetersconnected with the Y carriage and traveling around the staff;a belt running on the sheaves on the frame members and runningdownwardly over one sheave on the saddle, around the sheave on thecarriage and upwardly over the otherv sheave on the saddle; 'and acounterweight co-acting withthe belt, the sheaves on the frame-members,the sheaves on the saddle and the sheave on the carriage.

l0.l In an ensilage packer, the combina! tion of a vertical staff;compacters traveling in a` circle around the staff; an endless beltactuating the compacters; and a counterweight supported by said belt.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name at Springfield;Illinois, ythis Ik 12th day of August; A. D. 1919. L

' HARRY E. COBB. Witnesses: Y n

ROY G. TROXELL,

W. T. 'IROXELL.r

